Conservative Essex councilor, 81, suspended for saying she doesn’t want ‘sexual pride flags’ on high streets
The 81-year-old Conservative councilor for Essex, suspended for saying she doesn’t want ‘sexual pride flags’ on high streets, insists people are ‘fed up with this insistence on flaunting sexuality in public’
- Angela Kilmartin, 81, has been suspended for 21 days, pending an investigation
- The Facebook post followed a man offering pride flags to businesses in Witham
- She wrote that ‘sex is for the bedroom’ not ‘for showing preferences in public’
An Essex Conservative councilor has been suspended for saying she doesn’t want ‘sexual pride flags’ on local high streets and insists people are ‘fed up with this insistence on flaunting sexuality in public’.
Angela Kilmartin, a Conservative councilor, has been suspended after writing on Facebook that she does not want “sexual pride flags” on her main street in Witham, Essex.
She said: ‘I don’t want sexual Pride flags on my main street. I don’t even want straight flags on my main street.
“Sex is for the bedroom and private life, not for showing preferences in public.”
The 81-year-old wrote in a community group Wednesday in response to a post by a man who had purchased Pride flags for local businesses to display in store windows.
Conservative councilor Angela Kilmartin (pictured), 81, has been suspended after writing on Facebook that she does not want ‘Sexual Pride Flags’ on her main street in Witham, Essex.
In 2020, Witham council appointed an LGBTQ+ ambassador and a rainbow flag flies from the council during Pride Month in June.
News follows earlier this week, a beauty salon displaying the rainbow pride flag had its front window set on fire.
The council’s conservative caucus is believed to have suspended her from the local conservative caucus for 21 days, pending a full investigation.
Following Ms Kilmartin’s publication, the Conservative leader of the council, Michael Lager, told the BBC: ‘We totally disassociate ourselves from the reported comments of this particular member.
‘We do not tolerate discrimination between people of different religions, beliefs and all protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010, which we respect and promote.’
In response to the post, Witham Council wrote on Facebook: ‘Witham Council have been made aware of comments posted overnight by one of their elected members. These views are not those of Witham Council as a corporate entity and as such we repudiate them.
Council leader Councilor Michael Lager said: “I was disappointed to hear this publication as Witham Council have policies to promote equal and fair treatment for all which have been signed by all of their elected members.”
The council’s conservative caucus is believed to have suspended her from the local conservative caucus for 21 days, pending a full investigation.
The publication added: ‘We celebrate the diversity of Witham and acknowledge it within our own organization in everything we do. We expect our counselors and staff to do the same.’
In June 2020, Witham council appointed an LGBTQ+ ambassador and a rainbow flag flies from the council during Pride Month in June.
Ms Kilmartin told the BBC: ‘I stand by what I said. We didn’t even have Olympic flags when that happened.
He also stated that he had already decided to step down as councilor before the local elections on May 4 after serving 16 years on the council.
MailOnline has contacted the Witham Constituency Conservative Association for comment.